Abstract

Various surgical procedures are available for patients with moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea. Hyoid suspension (HS) is an effective therapeutic option for the treatment of hypopharyngeal obstruction. It can be performed as primary treatment in case of isolated retrolingual obstruction, or as part of multilevel surgery when both retropalatal and retrolingual obstruction is present in moderate to severe patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Success rates of isolated HS or as part of multilevel surgery have been extensively reported and vary between 17% and 78%, depending on variables such as baseline apnea-hypopnea index and baseline body mass index. HS has a low morbidity and literature shows that it is a well-accepted treatment option.